


The Beginning of the End

by muzicwolf



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), I didn't watch the season, M/M, Rage, Voltron, but this is how the scene should've gone, s8 rage, vld, voltron legenedary defender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-09-21 18:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17048435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muzicwolf/pseuds/muzicwolf
Summary: I didn't finish season 8, don't come at me.This is essentially a condensed rewrite of the first episode because it made me so upset that I didn't even finish the rest of the season.Rest in pieces, Voltron. You won't be missed.(There might be typos, I rage-wrote this fic)





	1. Sunsets

This might very well be their last sunset. Keith is probably not as optimistic as he should be. After all, he is a _Defender of the Universe_ … Still can’t figure out what that actually means. Can’t figure out what he’s going to do if he actually comes out of this alive. And if he does end up alive at the end of all this chaos, would he stay on Earth? Was there even anything for him to stay here for?

“Hey, Keith. Thought you might be up here.”

Okay. So maybe there is one thing he could think of that might keep him here.

“Hey, Lance-” He has to stop and do a double take at the boy standing- or rather, slumping- in front of him, covered head to toe in… in… Keith couldn’t even say for sure. Pots and pans and God knows what else. “What… what are you wearing?”

Lance sighs and sits next to Keith, pulls his knees up to his chest. “I have a date with Allura tonight. Coran says this is the closest I can get to Altean courting wear.”

Date? Allura? Courting wear? How is one supposed explain the way your heart sinks when something that was never even yours slips away.

“Wow,” Keith finally manages to squeeze out alongside an equally forced smile. “I’m happy for you Lance.”

Lance smiles at him and then looks out to the sunset and Keith does too because his chest is heavy and he fears that if Lance looks over again, he’ll see it in his eyes. He’ll see how much it hurts. Lance smiles at him like he’s the future.

He can’t stand it.

“What do you think you’re gonna do after this Keith?”

Keith stares off into the mountains and imagines he can see the cave where it all started. Imagines he can see Blue twisting and spinning through the sky. Imagines he can see the wormhole open and suck them in.

“Kolivan and my mom will probably need help with the Blade. Even when the war is over, people will still need help all over. Rebuilding. Organizing. Stuff like that. I don’t belong on Earth anyway. Guess I never did.”

“Of course you do, Keith. You’re only half Galra, y’know. And… and without you, we never would have been able to rescue Shiro. Or find Blue. We’d never have been paladins. You’re our leader. We need you.”

Keith doesn’t even know where to start with that. How much of a leader was he when he left for the Blade? How much of a leader was he all the times he made decisions that nearly got them killed?

“I know you don’t think so… And I know there were some rough spots. But we always came out alive. We’re _alive_ Keith. I got to see my family again. Because of you.”

Keith sees Lance turn to look at him out of the corner of his eye and he shifts uncomfortably.

“It’s hard to take you serious with all that stuff on.”

Lance blinks and his eyes shift upward. Laughter rings out around them as he leans back on his hands stares up the sky that’s still slowly shifting from blue to red and orange. “Totally forgot about this stuff.”

The moment is broken and Keith relaxes. But his chest still aches.

“Should probably be getting ready for your date, shouldn’t you?”

Lance nods and stretches his arms above his head before standing.

“Hey, make sure you try and enjoy yourself tonight, Mullet. This might be our last night on Earth for a while.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.” He says though he doesn’t know how he could enjoy himself now.

Lance shakes his head, smile still painted on his lips and in his eyes as he moves to make the climb down to the ground.

“See you tomorrow Sharpshooter.”

Keith isn’t quite sure why he says it. He guesses that he’s trying to find any little way to get Lance to stay. To _ask him_ to stay without having to ask. Without having to tell him.

Lance turns and salutes him, “See ya, Samurai.” Then he’s gone.

Earth seems to remind Keith what he’s losing. The sky grows dark.

Lance takes all his light with him.


	2. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes on a date and has a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of this rewrite stuff because I'm still salty about what went down.   
> More to come because I already have half of chapter 3 written so if you like what's going on here so far then stick around. Love you guys <3

Dinner had been… interesting, to say the least. Not that Lance hadn’t expected the teasing from his family. Hell, he had missed it. Despite the faces he put on and the all the bickering, he had really  _ really  _ missed them. When they had first arrived back on Earth… when he saw his family still together despite the years of chaos, the tight knot that had coiled itself around his heart had simply snapped. Leaving him simultaneously breathless and full of new, fresh air. It had hurt so bad, but it was the best hurt he’d ever felt in his life.

He listens to his family talk, arms crossed over his chest in mock annoyance. Listens to tales of when they were children and pretends he never left. Imagines scenarios for those years he was gone. But they don’t come easily. He had missed his family more than he thinks he’d miss breathing. But when he thinks about it, he doesn’t think he’d trade his time with Voltron for anything. 

After all, being a pilot was what he always wanted. Maybe he didn’t get it in the conventional way, but Voltron… Blue… Red… A part of him would always be with them. He was a Paladin and it wasn’t something he’d trade. He was sure his family understood that.

“Speaking of dates…” Veronica slides her eyes over to Lance and he shifts his attention to her, momentarily drowning out the conversation at of the table. “Maybe you could put in a good word for me with that long-haired friend of yours?”

To Lance, it feels like every hair on his body stands on end. And something… something won’t sit still inside of him. He can’t decipher what the feeling is but it thrashes in his stomach like a horde of angry butterflies. He can’t make it go away. Can’t understand why  _ this _ has triggered it.

“Keith?! No. No no no no. Absolutely not. Why would you even-? Keith? He’s just- he’s not-     No. Not in a million decophebes. He’s really- he’s not…”

Lance stops himself, wondering why he’s tripping over his own tongue trying to explain this. It doesn’t even matter anyway. Veronica shrugs but the smirk she still wears unsettles him. 

“Just thought I’d ask…” Then she stands, raising her glass. “A toast,”

Everyone lets their conversations die off as she continues, “to family. Though we may be apart after tomorrow, we’ll always remain close at heart. Family is forever.”

Immediately after Lance joins in on his family toast, he can taste something close to guilt on his tongue. It’s bitter. He looks at Allura and just like all that time ago when he heard the story the first time, he wishes he could fix it. But he can’t. All he can do is his job. Be a paladin. Make sure no one ever has to go through the same pain as Allura.

He promises himself right then that he’ll do whatever it takes to see all this end.

* * *

After dinner, they go for a walk. And it’s quiet for a bit. Lance wishes it was a comfortable silence. But he can still feel the talk of family weighing heavily on Allura. They stop when they make it to a tree in the center of the park.

Lance looks at it, branches bare and sad in comparison to his bright childhood memories.

“This place used to be so beautiful.”

“It’s all my fault the Galra did this to your home.”

Lance understands that Allura feels she didn’t deserve to be one of the only survivors of her people. He understands the weight on her shoulders to win. To end this war. He understands… but he doesn’t  _ understand _ . It’s hard for him to explain it to himself. He understands why she feels this way but doesn’t understand how she misses everything she’s accomplished. Everything they’ve accomplished because of her.

“It’s not your fault. Allura, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Allura doesn’t answer before she walks forward and places her hand on the tree. Lance has seen this many times before and yet it still captivates him, leaving him absolutely breathless. In a bright flash of light, the tree and all the surrounding vegetation are all returned to their beautiful former states. He thinks maybe it’s more beautiful than he remembers.

“After all the time we spent fighting against the Galra, I came to think of each of you like family.” Allura’s voice is quiet, almost as if she doesn’t want to be heard. She turns and he thinks she looks a bit sad.

“We were all alone. But we were alone together. Now we’ve returned to Earth and I see that everyone already has a family. A home to return to when the war is over. It all leaves me feeling more uncertain than ever about my own future.”

Lance frowns. “Allura, we are a family. Family isn’t only who you’re related to. And it isn’t even only people from your own planet. Family is who you choose to love and keep around you. Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Keith, Coran, you. You’re all my family. I promise you that you will always have a home with us. Whether that be here on Earth or wherever you decide to go. We all love you. I love you.”

As soon as Lance says the words, he finds he feels… the same. It throws him off and he actually forgets how to breathe. He loves Allura. He  _ loves  _ her. Just not in the way he always thought he did. He loves her like he loves the rest of his ragtag little space family. He loves her like he loves Hunk and Coran and Pidge and Shiro and- oh.

_ Oh. _

“I love you…” He mumbles to himself and looks up at Allura, wondering if the hurricane of emotion he feels is as clearly etched into his face as he thinks it is. Judging by the shift in Allura’s face to that of a knowing smile, he realizes it is.

He steps towards her and takes Allura’s hands. “Allura, I-”

She shakes her head, lightly squeezing his hands. “There is no need for an explanation Lance. Truthfully, myself and the others, we saw it long ago. I think the only one who really needs an explanation is yourself.”

Lance has to laugh at himself for a second, “I’m so stupid.”

Allura laughs with him, “You’re not. You just didn’t want to see what was in front of you.”

Some of Lance’s mother's words from his childhood replay in his head.  _ Sometimes what you want is different than what you need. _

“I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.” 

“It was most important that you realized it on your own. But thank you, Lance, for reminding me that I do have a family. That I have all of you to help me decide what to do when this is all over.”

“When we win this war, we’ll figure everything out together.”

Lance believes this with his entire heart. Everything will work out when they finish this once and for all. But with this new revelation sitting in his chest, he doesn’t know if he can concentrate on anything else. Doesn’t know if he wants to go into this battle with words unspoken. He wants to believe this will end with the Paladins of Voltron as the victors. But there is always uncertainty. And regrets haunt longer than fear.


End file.
